STATISTICA Blogs

Dr. Randy Bartlett is a statistician who has a vast knowledge of STATISTICA and has been using it for a number of years. Recently Dr. Bartlett sat down with us to discuss how he has been using STATISTICA throughout his career.

• Tell us about your education and career.
Training: I have earned a Ph.D. & M.S. from the Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University; and a B.S. in Computer Science & Statistics from Iowa State University (amounting to nine years of training). 

Experience: I find that even after 19 years of cross-industry practice in statistics I am still learning.  Over my career, I have gained extensive software experience; even providing support for rival statistical software, Statgraphics, early in my career. 

I am now the Chief Statistical Officer for Blue Sigma Analytics.  We offer our clients all of the statistical tools available in STATISTICA, which is a great deal of breadth and depth

• What challenges did you face that drove you to use STATISTICA?
I needed increased productivity, greater reliability, and better graphics.  I found that STATISTICA provides all three.  First, STATISTICA is faster.  It has a menu-driven front end, runs on a PC, and it supports time-saving macros built into Base version.  In the hands of a competent professional, STATISTICA can produce the equivalent of a ten-person analytics group.  Second, STATISTICA is more reliable than anything I have used on a mainframe or minicomputer.  It runs on a PC so I am independent from a programming staff and from IT.  Fewer moving parts means greater fidelity.  Third, I can easily paste the graphs into presentations and the statistician-quality graphs are far better than those of spreadsheets. 

• How do you use STATISTICA?
I employ STATISTICA as a stand-alone package or as a complement to my client’s statistical software.  STATISTICA replaces spreadsheets and provides many more advanced capabilities. 

• Why did you choose to use STATISTICA over another product?
I always need more power and speed.  At times I am called upon to be the first to solve some new business problem or to analyze new datasets--trailblazing.  This demands the best software and software flexible enough to fit the way we think.  With STATISTICA, I spend less effort converting the way I think into the way the software works!  It is adroit at exploratory data analysis and facilitates complex analysis.  Also, STATISTICA was the first package to show me the true power of data mining software.  Finally, increased speed implies that I have more time for the client and more time to improve my solutions.  STATISTICA supplies such a speed advantage that I can provide high-quality results in less time than a competitor can produce inaccurate numbers from a spreadsheet.  As a highly-trained statistician, I value analytical integrity and with STATISTICA I can afford the price of it.  STATISTICA’s speed is a win for my clients and me. 

• Did STATISTICA give you the solution you were seeking?
STATISTICA surpassed my expectation. 

• What are STATISTICA strengths?
1. Breadth and depth in statistical capabilities;
2. Gains in productivity;
3. Improved graphics;
4. Greater reliability;
5. Quick learning curve;
6. STATISTICA runs on the PC and therefore provides independence from other silos in the corporation; 
7. Menu driven is the closest thing to point-and-click data analysis;
8. Macro capabilities for augmenting the software; and
9. Excellent documentation with friendly tech support. 

• Would you recommend STATISTICA to a colleague or friend?
I have already recommended STATISTICA on several occasions.